stormwater - Public Works Group Blog

May 8, 2013

Try Out Our Stormwater Beta Class!

If you ask public works professionals what are the most common concerns or issues they handle in their community, you will probably hear stormwater or flooding mentioned. So when we thought about developing online courses related to public works, we decided to begin by creating one about this topic. The entire course is still in development, but we have several sessions completed. And now with the software we are using ready for a public release this summer, we believe we are ready to invite a group of beta testers in to try it out. There are no costs associated with taking any of the courses so if you think you might be interested in testing out this class, read on . . .

One of the exciting aspects of this course is the software which allows for quite a different experience than what is usually offered by more traditional online educational delivery systems. All courses are created in and managed through 3D GameLab – a quest-based learning platform (a screenshot of the interface is included later in this post). When you join the class you are entered into a group with other students of that course. Everyone's progress is tracked in the group tab of the class. As you proceed through each session, or quest, you gain points, and as you complete a series of tasks, rewards are earned to track your progress. Each session leading up to a reward builds on the material in the last one.

So far, the classes we have ready in the Stormwater Course are shown below. And because stormwater and flooding are ongoing concerns for many, we expect to continue adding quest groups to the course over time.

Introductory Quest Group – at completion the student achieves the "Climateer" Level and badge

Welcome to Exploring Drainage
When it Rains, It Pours
Take the Damage Tour
The Flood Lineup
The Role of Government

Government Liaison Quest Group – at completion the student achieves the title of Government Liaison and earns a badge

Flood Zones
Flood Maps
Flood Insurance
Designing for the Storm

Castle Steward Quest Group – at completion the student achieves the Castle Steward level and earns the related badge

This group is still in development with the grayed-out quests not yet ready:

The Lay of the Land
Pump that Sump
Never Saw that Coming
The 500 Year Storm
Preparing for the Flood

So who should take this type of course? It is designed to offer information in a format that would be interesting and relevant to property owners, people interested in stormwater, and even engineers and others working in public works who are just getting started in working with stormwater. At this time the signup process will ask you to verify you are 18 years or older. We can accommodate people younger including classes of high school students; however, we would want to discuss the access process before setting up accounts to ensure we comply with FERPA and COPPA.

If you sign up to try it out, we would appreciate any feedback you have including ideas about how we can make the course better or ideas for other courses you would like to have us develop. At this time the class is limited to 60 people so if you are interested, make sure you sign up now with the form below to secure your spot!

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Note: Thanks to http://iconka.com for the first image in this post

March 20, 2013March 20, 2013

WATERCON 2013 – Day 3

And here we are already at the third full day of the conference. Today I started out in the exhibit hall talking to folks as they walked by the booth where we had a display of the #watercon Tweets. But I didn't have much time to chat before having to run off to the Mission Impossible session. As soon as I walked in the door and was handed a sealed envelope marked "Confidential," I realized this would be no ordinary activity. Upon opening the envelope, I discovered I had been assigned to a task force to determine five action points to address signficant water-related deficiencies in a community. Fortunately I was not alone in this endeavor – there were three other water professionals on my team who were obviously very experienced. It didn't take long for us to develop our recommendations. There were three other teams in the room working on the same assignment, and when we were all done, the moderators had us share our ideas. It was interesting to see that all the teams had come up with similar approaches. Well except our team had not thought of calling the National Guard. But, hey, as the one participant pointed out – they are there and available to help so why not use them. Afterwards we were all rewarded with candy for undertaking such a challenging assignment.

After we were released from our task force, I managed to catch the session on Green Infrastructure. While I could not live blog it, I did manage to share a few key points through Twitter (look for the #watercon hashtag to see the stream). The overall message from the panel of speakers is that green infrastructure is made up of complex elements. Designers are still figuring things out – particularly costs. And even though we have the International BMP Database, they cautioned trying to implement someone else's solution for your project without giving careful consideration to local conditions and factors. And finally they pointed out the operation and maintenance and monitoring of BMPs can be expensive.

Later in the afternoon, I caught the following sessions and was able to live blog them. Follow the link to run the CoverItLive tool to see the main points:

Who, What, When, Where and Why of Backflow Prevention – this was also a panel discussion about cross connections and backflow protection. It was interesting to hear the approaches and ideas from each community. Several members from the audience shared their experiences too. Make sure to run the live blog tool to see the tips and advice.

The New World of SCADA Security – this session provided an interesting view of why our operations had not experienced control security issues in the past and why they are more vulnerable now. The main point was "security through obscurity." Until 2010, hackers didn't really know about PLCs or how they operated. But because several programmers got together and wrote a program to hack into a PLC, launched it on another country's operations, and had their program picked up by someone whose actions led to the eventual release of it on the Internet, now anyone can get the code. Great.

I didn't really get a chance to talk to many vendors today – the booths had to be taken down at noon. Tomorrow is the awards breakfast and a few legislative sessions. But because I have some commitments at home, I unfortunately won't be able to attend. So I guess this wraps up my summary of WATERCON, but remember, since we captured so much of it online, you can always access the information by visiting the #watercon Tweets and reviewing the live blog sessions.

I very much appreciate ISAWWA sponsoring my registration and look forward to seeing everyone back next year!

March 20, 2013March 20, 2013

Watercon 2013 – Day 2

On the second day of Watercon, I alternated between attending sessions and visiting with exhibitors. Because of access to an outlet, I was only able to live blog a few of the sessions. The links to those are below:

Ice Pigging: Cleaning Mains with Ice – I first heard of this technique from a co-worker and really wanted to learn more about it. The talk was very interesting and informative. One of the key points I took away is that it is a cleaning technique only. You can't use this for the purpose of removing significant iron and other formations that have formed on the interior of your pipe. You can see in the image below a photo of the slide the speaker showed to demonstrate the type of material removed throughout the process.

What is Expected Coating Life for a Water Tank – the presenter showed many case studies and photos from inspections to explain their findings. He said their inspections are showing that the coatings are lasting much longer than the expected life.

Illinois Stormwater Group Recommendations – Regular readers of this blog may remember we reported on the work of this group several months ago and urged people to send in comments regarding the group's proposed draft (Why is the Illinois Department of Agriculture Determining Stormwater Rules for Cities? and Illinois Considers New Stormwater Regulations). The speaker mentioned they received hundreds of responses and are now revising the recommendations to reflect this input.

Antenna Contracts: What you Need to Know Before you Sign – if you always wondered what you might be missing in reviewing antenna contracts, this is the session you want to check out. Keith Dixon, an attorney with Dixon Engineering, brought up many issues to consider such as ownership, safety, damages, and security. This was a follow up session to the one before: Antennas & Water Towers: Why or Why Not? While I wasn't able to live blog that one, I did manage to snap this photo showing a huge truss that was installed on a tower for antennas:

The other two sessions I attended but was not able to live blog were Tips for Ductile Iron Pipe System Design & Installation and "Give me a Break" Uncovering the Truth of Water Main Breaks. When I get a chance I will follow up with a summary of those in a later post. In the meantime, I would urge everyone interested in design of ductile iron water mains to stop by the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association booth in the exhibit hall. They have many design guides and resources you can pick up to help you at work. (They also have an interesting website with many resources and some great graphics.)

Vendors – Products

There were many vendors I was able to visit with. I enjoyed talking with Andrew at the Seiler Instrument booth and learning about their new products. Andrew is a good resource for finding out the state of GIS and CAD technology in the public works industry. If you stop by his booth you can pick up information for products that will help integrate and meet all your mapping and data needs. Here is a photo of the Seiler booth:

I also spoke to T.J. and Brian at Ferguson Waterworks. While I just met Brian, I had known T.J. for some time. He is usually the person I call when I need to know something about watermain fittings or meters. He's also the person who inspired me to write this blog post: Frozen Meters Exposed – Don't Try this at Home. Here's a photo of Brian at their booth:

WATERCON 2013 - Ferguson Waterworks Booth

I was also able to visit with the representative from EJ – the former East Jordan Iron Works company. He mentioned they are in the process of reviewing casting designs so if you have any suggestions make sure to stop by and let him know about them. I shared my pet peeve with castings – in the "old days" the curb frames had a circular plate to fit the catch basins and inlets. Then suddenly one year they changed them to have rectangular bottoms. But they still fit over a circular concrete structure! So this leaves little corners hanging over the structure that you have to seal. Of course, not all contractors are going to seal them so the inspector has to try to stand there and make sure each and every little corner is sealed instead of paying attention to important construction activities like the material and drainage of the curb. Maybe with this revision they can figure out how to address this because failures around castings are one of the major generators of work orders for the streets/sewer departments.

Vendors – Training

If you are looking for training, the Environmental Resources Training Center has materials and training schedules available at their booth in the main exhibit hall. IPSI also has a booth on the second floor in the hall outside of the session rooms. Last year I attended my first year of the three-year program and found it to be an intense, highly energetic experience. What makes it so different is the content focuses on teaching all those non-technical skills we rarely have time to acquire as we are moving up the ranks. Everyone who has ever attended can't say enough about how incredible of an experience IPSI was to them. This year, Dave Lawry and I will also be giving one of the sessions during IPSI that will focus on communication and social media.

Below is a gallery of the photos I have taken while at the conference:

March 19, 2013March 20, 2013

WATERCON 2013 – Day 1

Yesterday was the opening day of WATERCON 2013 in Springfield, Ill. – a four-day event focusing on all things water in Illinois. We were told yesterday at the business meeting that 1,400 people had registered for the conference; this number was 10% over last year's registration. It's not surprising the number is growing – the sponsoring organizations have worked hard to create a dynamic event attended by, based on all the familiar faces yesterday, everyone in the water industry in this state. I didn't have a lot of time to chat between sessions and vendor visits, but I did get a few minutes to talk with people from Stanley Consultants, Engineering Enterprises, Seiler Instrument, the City of Robinson, the City of LaSalle, the City of Ottawa, Carus, RJN, Trotter and Associates. Hopefully I can get to their exhibits and find out more about what they have been working on lately.

Because ISAWWA arranged for @AbbyMPC and I to promote the event online, I was able to live blog most of the sessions I attended yesterday. These and the others that I will live blog over the next couple days can be found at the link below:

WATERCON Live Blog Site

The blogs are archived so you can also view them by clicking on the titles shown on that site or below:

Sludge Thickening in Centrifuges and Gravity Belt Thickeners, a Comparison between MWRDGC Facilities

Formation of a Stormwater Utility in Illinois – Is it in your Future

Developing a Municipal Stormwater Utility Key Elements and Case Study Example

Envision: A Rating System for Sustainable Infrastructure

Digester Foaming Case Studies

Save Time and Money with JULIE's GIS product

Fortunately I was able to still find time to talk with a couple vendors; today I hope to visit even more. Below is a brief summary of the information they shared:

PULSCO, Inc. – Hydropneumatic Surge & Pressure Control

Stopping by and talking with the representative from PULSCO helped me learn why I saw no elevated water towers when I was in England years ago. He said the midwest is the main area in the world where communities rely on elevated water tanks – other areas, like England, use hydropneumatic systems instead of towers to maintain surge and pressure control. He said the hydropneumatic tank in the PULSCO system can also minimize water hammer. PULSCO will work with design engineers to evaluate a hydropneumatic systems for communities. The parameters they need for this are the operating pressure of your system, the desired tank volume, information about your pumping system, and specific requirements of the hydropneumatic tank such as orientation, inlet/outlet connections, paint and lining.

If you stop by their booth, they have a well-written handout explaining how their system responds to water hammer. And they have a handy little wheel to help you quickly figure out delivery times of product or material.

Fer Pal Infrastructure

The other vendor I visited with was Chris Van Wormer who is a business development manager with Fer Pal Infrastructure. The company specializes in watermain rehabilitation using trenchless technology. They use Aquapipe, a cured-in-place liner that seemed very similar to what is used in sewer lining except it is approved for potable water applications. They even handle service connections the same way as a sewer lining project with the use of a robot that drills open each corporation connection after the lining is cured. Van Wormer said the material also has some structural capacity and has been used successfully for the past 12 years in Canada and many states including Minnesota and Michigan. If you visit their booth, you can watch a short video showing the installation process, and you can see samples of the material.

December 16, 2012December 16, 2012

Why is the Illinois Department of Agriculture Determining Stormwater Rules for Cities?

Recently I wrote about the draft release of Post-Development Stormwater Runoff Performance Standards for Illinois. And in discussions with colleagues over the last few weeks, I have not heard any positive support from anyone who has a professional background in stormwater management or regulation. Instead the consensus among stormwater professionals regarding the draft is that the entire document should be rewritten and the recommendations reconsidered because they are based on few facts, will not work, and will increase project costs significantly. So it makes you wonder how did something that so poorly addresses the reality of stormwater management get this far, and why is the IEPA seriously considering accepting recommendations from a group with a majority of members who have absolutely no background in stormwater management or regulation?

To begin answering this question, you need to look at who is running the show. This was one of the first questions I heard from everyone – why in the world did the IEPA arrange to have the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD) lead this effort? There are so many counties who could have been consulted instead – they bring decades of stormwater management and regulation to the table. Yet none were contacted. They could have reached out to engineers who have spent their career formulating stormwater designs, managing stormwater projects, and maintaining and regulating stormwater facilities. Yet only one recognized engineering expert with a background in all of these was picked to be in the workgroup.

So again, why the AISWCD? And just who is the AISWCD? Their website explains the group is

"a not-for-profit organization governed by a board of directors who represent the state’s 98 Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts."

So the purpose of this private group is to represent the Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Illinois – a group of governmental agencies. In 2010, the group received $231,663.09 in dues from these districts. So the next question is what are the Soil and Water Conservation Districts? (Of course a side question is why does a group of governmental agencies need a private, non-profit group to represent their interests, but that's another story.) The districts were created through an act of the Illinois Legislature and appear to be part of the Department of Agriculture. There is an advisory board to oversee these districts – here is the State's page indicating those board members: http://appointments.illinois.gov/appointmentsDetail.cfm?id=256

As you can see, the members of the advisory board for the Districts are supposed to come from Agriculture – not stormwater related professions. This is particularly interesting to note when you take into consideration that one of the first statements made at the public hearing held in Aurora regarding the new stormwater recommendations was that anything related to agriculture was not on the table – would not even be considered. It is also interesting when you read the recommendations and see that there is no mention of relying on the State's 303d list of impaired waters to make any decisions. Of course when you look at the State's official report regarding land uses contributing to pollution of these streams, you will see that agriculture is one of top contributors – much more so than what is contributed by stormwater runoff from communities and significantly more so than what is contributed from highways.

**Sources of Stream Impairments**
Potential Source	Stream Miles Impaired
Source Unknown	7097
Atmospheric Deposition – Toxics	3050
Crop Production (Crop Land or Dry Land)	2576
Channelization	2471
Agriculture	1395
Municipal Point Discharges	1374
Loss of Riparian Habitat	1245
Urban Runoff/Storm Sewers	1207
Animal Feeding Operations	652
Livestock (Grazing or Feeding Ops)	290
Combined Sewer Overflows	253
Highway/Road/Bridge Runoff	110

Table Source: ILLINOIS INTEGRATED WATER QUALITY REPORT AND SECTION 303(d) LIST, 2012

It also makes you wonder when you ask a work group member what the goals were for the recommendations and cleaning up the environment or improving our water quality was not the answer. So to summarize, the IEPA put the wolf in charge of the hen house – oh, I mean, the IEPA put the Department of Agriculture in charge of deciding stormwater standards and regulations to be imposed only on home and business owners, municipalities, and developers. And because no obvious goal has been stated in the recommendations, it makes you wonder is the goal really environmentally related or is it a protection of agricultural interests cloaked in the benevolent perception of helping the environment?

May 13, 2012

Flood Zone Game

Over the last several months, I've been working on a drainage course built on the 3D GameLab platform. The purpose of the course is to offer people information about drainage and flooding so they can better understand these issues and how to protect themselves and their property. The 3D GameLab framework, developed by Boise State University, is incredible because it gives anyone the opportunity to set up classes and incorporate fun learning elements using almost any online tool. There's also a badge and reward system available. When the class is finished, I'll post a more complete article about the course. But for now, I wanted to share a game I created for one of the course quests (it's also my very first attempt at making a game so it's very simple and basic). It was developed using the Construct2 software and is based on one of their tutorials. The object of the game is for the player to use a blow dryer to prevent a flood by drying up the rain drops. So while the game can offer a fun diversion, it's also designed to demonstrate the futility of fighting a flood without adequate preparation.

This game was created with Construct 2